BENGALURU: Even as Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has been reportedly insisting that a few ministers should contest the Lok Sabha polls, many of them skipped the dinner meeting hosted by him on Friday evening. Some others who attended, however, expressed that they cannot switch to national politics and instead wished that the Congress ticket be given to their children.
Prominent among the ministers who skipped the occasion was Social Welfare Minister Dr HC Mahadevappa, to whom both Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar have insisted on contesting from the Chamarajanagar Lok Sabha seat. Replying to them recently, Mahadevappa had sarcastically said that both the CM and DCM should contest the LS polls, with especially the latter deserving the opportunity the most.
PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi, whose name was making the rounds as a probable candidate for the Belagavi seat, also gave the dinner a miss. Ministers KN Rajanna, Byrati Suresh, Santhosh Lad, and Sharanabasappa Darshanapur were among the absentees, according to sources. But Shivakumar’s supporters maintained that a majority of the ministers attended the programme, and those who had skipped had informed him in advance, owing to pre-scheduled engagements.
With the ministers who took part, both the CM and DCM discussed individually about the respective LS constituencies and the probable candidates. The two want to win 20 out of the 28 seats to prove their mettle and continue in their posts even after the Lok Sabha polls, a Congress leader remarked.
Former Union minister Digvijaya Singh and Congress’ RS candidate Ajay Maken also attended the dinner meeting.
“We discussed the Lok Sabha polls and the necessity of the list of candidates to be announced at the earliest. The screening committee held a round of talks on the shortlist of candidates, and after holding another meeting, the final list will go to the Central Election Committee (CEC). The high command will take a call on fielding the ministers as candidates in the LS polls,” Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara told reporters on Saturday.